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Data by Cluster

A cluster is a regional concentration of related industries that arise out of the various types of linkages or externalities that span across industries in a particular location. The U.S. Benchmark Cluster Definitions are designed to enable systemic comparison across regions. View and compare clusters across the U.S.

Data by Region

A region is broadly defined as a county, economic area (EA), metro/micropolitan statistical area (MSA), or state. The U.S. Benchmark Cluster Definitions use the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis defined economic areas. View and compare regions across the U.S.

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The Community of Practice enables practitioners to share Resources, post Blogs, and find partner Organizations. View and contribute content of interest to the cluster based economic development community.

Silicon Valley Competitiveness and Innovation Project (SVCIP) formed to proactively identify a data-driven public policy agenda to enhance and reinforce the region's competitive advantages in innovation, and ensure that Silicon Valley residents have access to the job opportunities and prosperity linked to growth in innovation industries. SVCIP will periodically update the dashboard of indicators and progress on public policy actions. SVCIP is a collaboration of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Recent years have seen the rapid emergence of a new type of program aimed at seeding startup companies. These programs, often referred to as accelerators, differ from previously known seed-stage institutions such as incubators and angel groups. While proliferation of such accelerators is evident, evidence on efficacy and role of these programs is scant.

Productive, innovative, competitive economies require smart and simple regulations to prosper. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s 2014 Regulatory Climate Index compares and ranks the efficiency of local regulations that apply to small businesses in 10 cities across America.

Michael E. Porter launched the new U.S. Cluster Mapping tool on September 29, 2014 in Minneapolis as part of a two-day conference called Mapping the Midwest’s Future, held by the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. The conference hosted over 150 business leaders, policymakers, economic development officials and academics from twelve Midwest states and four Canadian provinces. The Humphrey School of Public Affairs has compiled a full listing of presentations from the conference, with documentation where available.

Nearly five years after the Great Recession of 2008, the road to economic recovery has been sluggish nationwide – with employment and economic activity still below levels recorded before the severe recession hit. Of particular concern is that the growth in Maine, along with that of the rest of New England, continues to lag behind even the sluggish growth of the overall U.S. recovery.

The state of Illinois is uniquely positioned as a Midwestern, national and global leader in science and technology research and development. Discover the breadth of Illinois’ innovation assets and resources by taking a tour of the Illinois Innovation Ecosystem presentation below.

The Illinois Innovation Network was established by Governor Pat Quinn in 2011 as a common platform to connect startups, innovation-driven enterprises, service providers, research and academic institutions, and community leaders to position Illinois as one of the world’s top innovation centers.

Benchmarking the Rhode Island Knowledge Economy is a compilation of twenty-three different indicators measuring Rhode Island’s capacity and progress toward competing in a knowledge-driven and science and technology based economy. The indicators are organized into four categories representing key components of a knowledge-based economy: Rhode Island’s Knowledge Economy, The Knowledge Business Pipeline, Research and Development, and The Workforce for the Knowledge Economy.

Why do investments in certain places yield jobs, growth, and prosperity while similar investments made in seemingly identical places fail to produce the desired results? Starting with the observation that innovation clusters spatially across a broad spectrum of industries, my work seeks to understand the mechanisms and institutions that promote the creation of useful knowledge.

America’s research capabilities, entrepreneurial spirit and industrial prowess are poised to be focused and, in many cases, repurposed to realize the economic and employment returns many innovative technologies promise. However, if we are to be successful in assuring that all Americans share in this success, we need to expand the ability of many more locales to leverage their centers of basic research and related public and private R&D enterprises to enhance regional economic growth and competitiveness.

Over the last 30 years, researchers across the country have been documenting the shifts in university policies and practices enabled in no small part by the Bayh-Dole legislation of the mid-1980s, and the establishment and growth of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. These major shifts in national policy created an environment in which universities were free to manage their IP in ways that would support knowledge transfer as well as commercialization of new companies, along with an increased availability of private sector risk capital to support promising start ups.